And Hanafi could have reduced the deficit moments after coming on but unleashed a volley that went well over.

Jurgen Raab’s side would go three goals up four minutes after the restart when Dzoni picked his spot with a shot into the top right despite Zaiful getting a touch on the ball.

Clear chances were at a premium thereafter with Shahdan’s freekick that Zaiful gathered comfortably two minutes before the hour mark being the only notable one.

Substitutes Faizal Raffi and Jamil Ali combined and the former nearly found the net for Tampines, only to be denied by Zaiful in a one-on-one situation in the 80th minute.

The Tigers were handed a lifeline with eight minutes remaining when Fadli’s header off Zayar Win’s cross was dropped by Haikal Hasnol and went into goal.

The full-time whistle went soon after, leaving Balestier in search of their first victory since early April.

Tampines Rovers Head Coach Jurgen Raab: “The result was alright, although I was angry about the goal we conceded. I had also hoped we could have scored one or two more and our decision-making could have been better in certain situations.

“It was also not easy playing without Izwan (Mahbud), Joey (Sim) and (Khairul) Amri but all in all, I felt that it was a totally deserved win. The players had done very well against a side like Balestier and I’m satisfied.”

Balestier Khalsa Head Coach Marko Kraljevic: “I was not satisfied with the result, I thought we should have done better. The performance wasn’t good enough. It was tough not playing after 17 days but that was no excuse.

“We were doing alright until we conceded the first goal, which was the turning point of the game. It could have been a different story had we not conceded that goal. The players lost concentration thereafter and it was difficult to recover from that.”